James Gordon
*Real name: James "Jim" Worthington Gordon *Alias: Commissioner Gordon *Temporary aliases: Anti-Batman *Identity: Public Identity *Alignment: Good *Gender: Male *Hair: White, Eyes: Brown *Occupation: Detective; Police Commissioner *First appearance: Detective Comics #27 History Rookie cop James W. Gordon was transferred from Gotham City to Chicago as part of a plan by Gillian Loeb, then a captain, to cover up events that would eventually lead to the creation of the first Wrath, Gordon having shot a dirty cop and his wife while they were sneaking out of a warehouse. Gordon complied when Loeb threatened to kill the couple's young son. During his tenure in Chicago, Gordon struggled with his wife, Barbara Eileen Gordon over conceiving a child, and took university night classes in criminology. He faced brutality amongst the other officers after uncovering corruption within the force. Later, Gordon uncovered evidence of rigging in the mayoral election, and brought down two more of his fellow officers. Eventually, his commissioner recommended a speedy transfer to Gotham City for him, both for his own safety and for theirs. A man of integrity, the newly-promoted Lt. Gordon found that his only ally against the mob-controlled Gotham police department was the fledgling Batman, although he was forced to keep their working relationship out of the public eye whenever possible. Gordon is able to contact Batman with the Bat-Signal, and usually meets with him on the rooftop of Gotham City Police Headquarters. To his constant annoyance, Batman often disappears silently while Gordon's back is turned, often while he's in the middle of talking. Gordon forged an alliance in his early years with Batman and Harvey Dent, Gotham's District Attorney, as the three most dedicated and capable people to take down organized crime in Gotham, namely the "Roman Empire," the crime family led by Carmine Falcone. Although they did succeed, it was at the cost of Harvey's sanity, and he became the villainous Two-Face after being scarred with acid by one of Falcone's underlings, Sal Maroni. To this day, the loss of Harvey Dent, not just the ally but the man, is one of Gordon's greatest regrets, and he somewhat blames himself for not trusting Dent when the evidence pointed towards him. After Dent's transformation, Janice Porter became the new D.A. of Gotham. Gordon and Porter later began investigating a series of murders by a killer known as Hangman. Porter was killed by Two-Face, and the Hangman was soon revealed to be Sofia Gigante Falcone, the daughter of Carmine Falcone. Sofia, too, was killed by Two-Face, ending the Falcone crime family's influence over Gotham. Following the "Contagion," "Legacy" and the "Batman: Cataclysm," Gotham City was nearly completely destroyed, and quarantined and isolated from outside assistance by the U.S. Government. Gordon was one of the few who remained behind by choice, and struggled to maintain order amidst the rampant crime and anarchy. Batman was mysteriously absent for the initial three months of the crisis, and Gordon felt somewhat betrayed. He went as far as to renounce Batman's name, and deny his symbol as a means for protection, believing that it only symbolized false hope. He forged an uneasy alliance with his old friend Harvey Dent (Two-Face), but was later (naturally) double-crossed, kidnapped, and put on trial by Two-Face for breaking their "legally-binding" alliance. He escaped Two-Face's wrath, and later met with Batman once again. In this confrontation, Gordon expressed his disgust towards Batman for letting Gotham "fall into ruin". Batman offered to prove his trust by revealing his secret identity, but Gordon refused to look when Batman removed his mask. Eventually their relationship was repaired. After Gordon's relationship with his wife Barbara had become strained, the two eventually divorced. He fell in love with and married fellow officer Sarah Essen, with whom he was much more compatible. However, Essen could not comprehend why Gordon needed Batman so much, which occasionally also put a strain on their relationship, although basically they loved each other and got along well. Unfortunately, she was shot in the head by the Joker at the very end of "No Man's Land," for catching a baby he had thrown at her after he told her not to move. An enraged Gordon was barely able to restrain himself from killing the Joker, but did end up brutally shooting the Joker in the knee. Afterwards, the Joker was at first incredulous, believing that Gordon may have shot him so he could never walk again, but soon he began to laugh, after he "got the joke," that Gordon had just avenged his daughter. During the events of "Batman: Officer Down," Gordon was gunned down by a crooked police officer, a man in front of whose family he had been arrested by Gordon. Although Gordon was put into a coma, he did eventually pull through, and the true meaning of his relationship to Batman was more heavily gone into. Batman was nearly unable to work with the rest of the Gotham Knights in bringing down the shooter, spending all of his time at Gordon's bedside. Barbara, and his more loyal amongst the GCPD, such as his longtime friends Harvey Bullock, Renée Montoya and Crispus Allen were among those hardest hit, Barbara more so than anyone. Although the assailant was eventually brought in for interrogation, they were unable to successfully prosecute him, and he ended up with his revenge taken on Gordon, but still at large. This is arguably the fault of Crispus Allen, who refused to use the Batman as an interrogation tool until the very end of the time they were allowed legally to hold him, believing it immoral. Gordon retired from the police force after having served in it for more than 20 years. He remained in Gotham, and occasionally enjoyed nighttime visits from Batman, who would come to him for advice and, although the topic was clearly directly avoided by Bruce, for companionship. Commissioner Michael Akins became the new head of the GCPD after his departure. Gordon's most prominent moment in Batman's life during this time was when he was contacted by the currently-reformed Harvey Dent to stop Batman from beating the Joker to death after the Joker was framed for the apparent murder of Thomas Elliot, helping Batman get through his rage to see that killing the Joker would accomplish nothing but make him just another criminal, Gordon refusing to allow his friend to fall like that. As of "One Year Later" after the Infinite Crisis, Gordon had returned to the role of Gotham's Police Commissioner. The GCPD had uncovered immense corruption from within, reportedly reaching all the way up to Commissioner Akins himself. Commissioner Gordon continued to work with and without the aid of Batman and Robin, constantly striving for a better Gotham City. James-dc-gordon.gif Jim gordon-ctbp.gif JamesGordon2-MHR.gif JamesGordon1-MHR.gif CommissionerJamesGordon-BYO.gif CommissionerJamesGordon-Bolland.gif CommissionerJamesGordon.gif CommissionerJamesGordon (2).gif CommGordon40sCJE.gif Comissioner.gif Comgordon fear.png GordonBB.gif gordon1.gif CommissionerGordonwithPipe.png gordonzr0.gif gordon.png Jim Gordon.png James Gordon6.png James Gordon5.jpg Gordon.jpg gordon1.png gordon11.png james_10.gif jim_go10.png Flashpoint fp_chief_gordon_rar.gif Category:Characters Category:Batman Family Category:Gotham City Police Department Category:J